Bottle with spherical or ball-valve stopper.



A. W. WOODWARD.

BOTTLE WITH SPHERIGAL OR BALL VALVE STOPPEB.. APPLIOATION I ILBD JULY 29, 1902.

PATENTED MAR. 31, 1903.

UNITED STATES AMBROSE WEBSTER WOODWARD, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOTTLEWITH SPHERICAL OR BALL-VALVE STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 724,405, dated March 31, 1903.

Application tied July zo, 1902. serial No. 117,476. (No model.)

.To a/ZZ whom, it may con/cern:

Be it known that I., AMBRosE WEBSTER WOODWARD,a citizen of the United States, residing at Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottles with Spherical or Ball-Valve Stoppers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements inlperfectly tight simple in construction, easily operated, and indestructible as against the action of any liquid, acid or effervescing, conlined therein, that will give no taint or disintegrated particle to deleteriously aect the aroma or flavor of said liquid or to adulterate its mass.

The elements of the invention will severally and at large appear in the following de-l scription, and they will be separately or combinedly set forth or pointed out in the appended claims.

The purposes of the invention are attained by the mechanism, devices, and means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, with similar reference characters to designate like parts throughout the several views, in which A Figure l is a front elevation of the upper portion of a bottle-neck and stopper embodying the elements of the invention, showing the valve in the position of closing or stoppering the bottle; Fig. 2, a view from the right, Fig. l; Fig. 3, a sectional view of the portion to the left of the line x in Fig. l; Fig. 4 an elevation similar to that in Fig. 1, showing the valve in opened or unstoppered position; Fig. 5, a view from the right of Fig. 4; Fig. G, a sectional View of the portion to the-left of the line y y in Fig..4.; Fig. 7*, a

top view of Fig. 1; Fig. 8, a top of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9, a top view of the bottle-neck with the valve removed, showing the concaved spherical valve-seat; and Fig. 10, a straightenedoutinner side view of the valve supporting and locking strip.

In the drawings, A designates the upper portion of the neck of a bottle, which may be of any approved size and shape and preferably made of a good quality of glass; but the bottle is omitted in the drawings;v The neck has at its upper end a head a of the required depth and thickness, forming an offset or shoulder a', surrounding the neck. In the underedge of this odset on opposite sides of the neck are formed notches or recesses d2 of the'required depth and length, with vertical walls at diametrically opposite points and downwardly-sloping top walls forming inclined planes a3, disposed in one direction and vanishing in the under edge of said Offset to be engaged by shoulders in the ears or arms of the valve-supporting strip, yet to be described. In the top of the head ais formed a spherically-concaved recess a4 of the reished to be spherically true, constituting the seat of the ball-valve, yet to be described, while through its center opensthe vent a5, leading from the bottle through the neck A.

vquired dimensions, ground in or smoothly in- The ball-valve B, also preferably made of a goodquality of glass, is a spherical body, b, of the required volume or mass, so that when its convex surface shall be ground olf or otherwise smoothly nished it will be closely fitting to the concave surface of the recess o4 when seated or rotated therein. Centrally 'vthrough'the body b is an aperture or orifice b to register with the vent a? in the bottleneck when the valve is properly seated and rotated. Ondiametricallyoppositesides,with their axes perpendicular to theV axis of "said orifice, said body b is provided with trunnions b2 b2 t0 be journaled in bearings throughthe ears or arms of a valve-supportingstrip yet to be described, and midway between the extremities of the orifice b and perpendicular to its axis said body b is'provided with a iinger-grip b3, whereby it may be rotated to perform its functions, opening the passage-'way into the bottle orl closing the same, while at IOO the center of said finger-grip is a stop-lug b4 to engage on the head of the bottle-neck to indicate that the orice b and the vent a5 are in alinement, opening the bottle, and on the opposite side of the grip, on one side of said orifice b', is a stop-lng b5, also to engage on said head, indicating that said vent is closed or the bottle stoppered.

The valve-supporting strip C is an oblong strap c of approved width and thickness, with a length to reach around the bottle-neck immediately underneath the offset a and to be rotatably secured in place. To this end, near one extremity thereof, there is provided an orifice c' to be engaged by a tongue or finger c2, projecting from the other extremity, which tongue or linger by passing through said orifice c and being clenched home, as shown, forms a hook c3, securely holding the strip in place, yet permitting rotation about said neck. At prescribed points on the strip, so as to be on opposite sides of the neck, are erected upwardly-projecting arms c4, which arms are made outwardly and inwardly curving over the head a, so as to form odsets or shoulders c5 to engage against the inclined planes a3, drawing the valve B down into the seat and to bring their upper ends or ears close to the sides of the body b when the valve Bis seated in place, while said ears are provided with bearing-orifices c6 c6, through which the trunnions b2 b2 of the valve are j ournaled, su pporting said valve in operative position.

Now the several parts hereinbefore described and occupying the respective positions indicated in the drawings, an inspection thereof clearly shows, first, that the shoulders c5 lying in the widest portions of the recesses a2 the valve B lies practically loose in the recess ct, being freely rotatable therein; second, that rotating the valve B in the direction indicated by the arrow 1 till the lug b* ,the inflow or outflow ofliquid thereinto or therefrom; third, that turning they valve B in the direction indicated by the arrow 2 till the lug b5 contacts with the top of the head 0;.

will bring the orifice b' into a horizontal position and the body b over and across the vent a5, closing said vent or stoppering the bottle;

fourth, that by horizontally rotating the valve in .the direction indicated by the arrow 3 will move the shoulders c5 on the inclined planes a3 toward the lower edge of the offset or shoulder ct', drawing the valve downwardly onto its seat, securely lookin g it, hermetically closing the bottle when stoppered or holding it open when unstoppered, and, fifth, the strip C, lying below the head a, adjacent to its offset or shoulder a', and by contacting therewith prevents said strip from slipping upward and o.

It is well known that Patent No. 184,908, dated November 2S, 1876, was granted to William A. Root for a spherical bottle-stopper, and that Patent No. 206,271, dated July 23, 1878, was issued to Frederick J. Seybold for a cam sphere or spheroidal bottle-stopper. No claim is therefore broadly made to the spherical stopper; but

What is considered new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-f- 1. A glass bottle having the neck, A, comprising the head, a, with the offset edge, u', the recesses, a2, therein and having the inclined planes, a3, and the spherically concaved valve-seat, c4, in the top of said head; a glass valve, B, having the spherical body, b, with the axial orice, b', the trunnions, b2, the finger-grip, b3, and the stop-lugs, b4 and b5; and the valve-supporting strip, C, having the oblong strap, c, with the end orifice, c', the end tongue, c2, forming the hook, c?, and having the upwardly-projecting arms, c4, with the outwardly and inwardly curving recesses forming the shoulders, ci and the upper end.

ears with the trunnion-bearing orifices, c5; all arranged, combined, and secured in position, substantially as described and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. In a bottle with a glass-ball stopper of the character described, the bottle-neck, A, having the head, a, with the offset edge, a', the recesses, a2, therein and having the inclined planes, as, and with the sphericallyconcaved valve-seat, ain the top of said head, substantially as described and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

3. In a bottle with a spherical glass stopper of the character described, the glass stopper, B, having the spherical body, b, with the axial orifice, b', the trunnions, b2 b2, the finger-grip, b3, the stop-lug,.b4, and the stop-lug, b5, substantially as described and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

4L. vIn a glass bottle with a spherical glass stopper, both of the character described, the valve-supporting strip, C, composed of the strap, c, having the end orifice, c', and the end finger, c2, forming the securing-hook, c3, and having the upwardly-projecting arms, c4, with the outwardly and inwardly curving recesses forming the shoulders, c5, and the upper end ears with the trunnion-bearing orifices, c6 c6, substantially as described and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

5. The combination in a glass bottle, with the neck portion, A, having the head, a, with the under edge offset, a', having the recesses, a2 a2, with the vertical end walls and the in- 'clined planes, a3, and the spherically-constopper, all substantially as described and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

6. The combination in a glass bottle, with the neck portion, A, having the head, awith the offset edge, a', the recesses, a2, the inclined planes, 0,3, and the spherically-concaved recess, a, and with the glass stopper, B, having the spherical body, b, rotatably seated in said recess, a4, and having the axial orice, b', the trunnions, b2 and b2, the fingergrip, bs, and the stop-lugs, b4 and b5, of the valve-supporting strip, C, composed of the neck-surrounding str'ap, c, with the end oriiice, c', and the end finger, c2, passing through said orifice, with the bent-over hook, c3, securing the strap in place, said strap having the upwardly-projecting arms, o4 and c4, with the outwardly and inwardly curving portions 15 forming the shoulders, c5 and c5, and the upper end ears with the bearing-orifices, c6 and c6, said shoulders seated in said recesses, a2, and engaging against said inclined planes, a3, and said bearing-orifices journaling said truunions, b2, all substantially as described and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth. In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

l AMBROSE WEBSTER WOODWARD.

Witnesses: Y

'PAUL A. HERR', DANIEL H. HERR. 

